Satin Covered Doll
by Tirya King
Summary: WIP An accident leaves Rogue both murderer and innocent bystander. It seems that taking a life away has given her a new one. Remy is getting what he wants, so why isn’t he happy about it?


Title: Satin-Covered Doll

Author: Tirya King

Category: General/Romance

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Is good for the mind, body, and soul

Archive: Just tell me where it's going and it's yours

Timeline: Set after Cajun Spice

Summary: An accident leaves Rogue both murderer and innocent bystander. It seems that taking a life away has given her a new one. Remy is getting what he wants, so why isn't he happy about it?

Disclaimer: I just recently discovered to my immense pleasure that I did indeed own X-Men… then I woke up. sigh such is the life…

A/N: I can't tell if this will be more drama-y or humorish. I expect it'll be a bit of both depending on what I'm feeling at the time. Read and review mes amis! If you have a question on the French I use, or corrections in Nuwie's case , let me know. I didn't put any notes in this translating it, since if you know Remy at all, you know what he's saying. Also, let's just put this on the record and say that accents are evil! Evil! Evil! Evil! Evil! My mother has a southern accent, so to me, that's just how I talk! Grrrrr! You try writing an accent when it sounds normal! Anywho… on with the show!

Part One: Ain't No Sunshine

"Cherie, Remy's sorry. He didn' mean…"

"Swamp Rat, if yeh eva come near meh again, Ah'll rip yeh a new one!"

The acolyte reached out for her shoulder in protest. With her poisonous skin covered beneath many layers and his hand gloved, he was in no danger from her powers. Yet she still flinched away from him when he made contact. Her breath caught in her throat slightly, though she tried to hide it.

His eyes, a gentle brown due to his holotransmitter, grew hard at this involuntary action. "Why yeh so scared o' Remy, chere? Ev'ry time he thinks he gets yeh out o' yo' shell, yeh jump right back in." She shrugged his hand off roughly, averting her eyes from his. Her eyes held an old sadness that tugged at him strangely, but her voice was smooth and deadly, leaving no room for question.

"If yeh don't like the way Ah am, then stay the hell away from meh! Ah ain't one of yo' quick n' easy lays, an' Ah don't help the enemy. So stop followin' meh!" Her accent, he noted, was much thicker now that she was all worked up. But then, so was his, and his temper could match hers on any day.

"Remy ain't afta' yeh fo' information, cherie. He wants t' be friends wit' yeh at th' very least. Why won' yeh trust dat he won' hurt yeh? If Remy was afta' a quick n' easy lay, do yeh think he'd be standin' here arguin' wit' yeh? Non, he'd go fo' one o' de blonde bimbos yo' school has so much of."

"The last time Ah trusted yeh, yeh used meh t' break yo' delinquent dad out of the Assassins Guild. Ah think Ah've learned mah lesson." There it was again, that sadness that she tried so hard to hide. What Remy considered a mere ruse to get what he wanted, she considered a severe violation. In his research of her he learned that the betrayals of her past prevented her from placing her trust in most people. He should have seen what it would do to her to learn of his deception, yet he went ahead with his usual recklessness. He was trying to make it up to her, he never meant to hurt her, but she was being so damn stubborn about it!

"Remy already said he was sorry fo' dat…"

"Friends don't kidnap o' use each other. Now leave meh alone, Ah got class."

He reached for her again, unwilling to let the girl get the last word and brush him off so easily. He caught her arm in a strong grip that wouldn't let her go no matter how hard she tugged. His eyes narrowed angrily. She would leave when he was damn well ready to let her leave. That sadness did not become her. He wanted to see the spark of defiance again that gave her so much life. He wanted his spitfire Southern belle back.

"Yeh neva' answered th' question, Rogue. Why are yeh so scared? Or are yeh jus' bein' stupid again 'cause o' yo' power? Yo' 'woe is meh' crap is getting' pretty old, chere." He knew he shouldn't have said that. He should have known that he was purposely trying to piss off the one girl that shouldn't be provoked. He should have known that when you push the Rogue, she pushes right back with twice the force.

Yet even though he knew all this, he still didn't see the blow coming. Her gloved hand made full contact with his cheek, making the near empty hall resound with the slap. He was so stunned, his grip loosened enough for her to pull away.

When she spoke again, she looked downright murderous. "Yeh stay the fuck away from meh Swamp Rat or Ah'll drain yeh dry." Before he could respond, she stormed away, presumably, to class.

Remy considered going after the Southern belle, but then thought better of it. His health wouldn't be able to take another confrontation with Rogue when she was in one of her rages. Besides, he would already have a nice red mark on his face as it was. So he turned and went to his own classes, silently cursing the girl he was trying to make amends with. Part of what he said was true, he was truly sorry for hurting her back in New Orleans. But she was still his enemy and he knew better than to get too attached to her.

The young acolyte gripped his books in a death-like grasp, trying to calm down so he didn't charge anything by accident. If he had anything better to do, he'd have quite school a long time ago.

Rogue stalked down the halls muttering various curses under her breath. No one got under her skin quite like Remy Lebeau and she didn't know why. She also didn't know why she put up with him as much as she did. If he were anyone else, she'd have absorbed him till he was in a coma by now. At least she could shut up the psyches from time to time. Unlike him, who didn't seem to have an 'off' switch.

Part of her liked the attention he paid her. He knew about her powers and didn't care, or at least pretended not to. She had always wanted someone like that, someone who cared more about her than getting in her pants. The idea that the biggest ladies-man she knew would ignore the bimbos in favor of her was an appealing one. Even the fact that he was not afraid to meet her temper with his own was a welcome change. The majority of people would just cringe at her patented death glare and slink away before she got her gloves off.

But at the same time, she was a bit intimidated by him. There was an understanding between her and the world: leave the Rogue alone and you don't get hurt. But he didn't seem to understand or want to follow this rule. The acolyte would even go out of his way to touch her, be it a casual brush of arms or a finger playing with her hair if he got close enough. She wasn't sure how to respond to a man who seemed to be suicidal and who bounced off everything she threw.

Lately, even though they were enemies and had faced each other on the battlefield numerous times, there seemed to be a lack of real malice in young Gambit towards her. Even when they were fighting, he never pulled his full strength against her. Gradually, his ever flirtatious behavior began to soften her a bit. Rogue was finding less and less reasons to be unpleasant to him. Today had been one of a decreasing number of real fights outside of what he called 'business hours.' Even the many insults she threw at him became more like ordinary banter rather than having real meaning.

The confused X-girl put a hand to her head. The psyches were wrecking havoc with her today and confusing her with different views on her situation. Some of them, like Amara and Jubilee swooned whenever he approached. Others, like Logan and Scott bristled at his presence and whispered things for her to do to make him leave. All in all, every decision she had to make felt like it needed full approval of her various 'voices.' All of whom needed to voice their opinions about everything.

She briefly thought how she was a psychologist major's dream come true for a thesis report.

"Rogue? Can you hear me? Are you, like, ok?"

She was snapped from her introspection by her best friend. As different as Kitty and Rogue were, the bubbly teen's presence was nearly always welcome. Now, though, she looked concerned for her friend.

"Yeah, Ah'm fine, Kit. Just a headache s'all."

"Is it your…" Kitty paused, knowing Rogue's powers were a sensitive subject.

"Nah," Rogue forced a smile. "Just a normal headache. Ah'll be fine."

"Oh no you're not," Kitty rolled her eyes. Rogue held back a groan. For such a bubbly valley girl airhead, the younger girl was more perceptive than she seemed. "I know that look. Like, who was it _this_ time?"

Rogue was about to respond, but was interrupted by Kurt butting in to the conversation. "Kitty, can I borrow your history notes?"

"Sure, no prob." She fished in her backpack for the notes. Meanwhile, the boy and his sister were trying hard not to make it seem like they weren't looking at each other. Kitty let out a triumphant whoop at successfully finding the notes and passed then along. "You have to stop falling asleep in class, Kurt. The teacher is, like, so going to fail you."

"Thanks, Kitty. Next time you can sleep and I'll take notes, ja?" He trailed the girls to gym class since he too was going there. Rogue was half-way grateful for her brother's presence. It stood as unspoken permission for her to remain silent.

In the locker room, Kitty turned to her best friend and roommate. "Rogue, you and Kurt, like, have to start speaking again _sometime_. You're family and teammates. You can't ignore each other forever."

The gothic girl smirked bitterly. "Workin' so far, ain't it? Ah already apologized, didn't Ah? Th' next move's his."

The smaller girl shook her head in exasperation. "Like, whatever you say. We don't have time to argue about this again. Now, come on! We're going to be late again!" Rogue reluctantly followed, tugging on her clothes self-consciously. The gym dress code was specific in its requirement for shorts and a t-shirt. After so many days of skipping, Rogue was forced to take class on the Professor's orders. She and the gym teacher worked their way around the dress code, allowing her to use a long sleeved shirt and wind breaker pants. However without her usual gloves and with people running around her so carelessly, it made her extremely nervous. At least today was lacrosse, so hopefully she could let her aggression out on the field.

Due to the rain, the class was unable to go outside and play, so they had to stay indoors. Mats were propped up against the wall for goals and many rules were reformed to create a gentler, more indoor-friendly game of lacrosse. All this only made Rogue's wish to play rough worse. Maybe she and Logan could train later in the Danger Room one on one. That would go a long way to calm her down.

"Alright! Form a line and we'll get started," said Mr. Oberthal, the gym teacher. Generally he was popular among the mutants. He was fair and would not allow any harassment toward them in his class. Unfortunately he also wouldn't make any exceptions for them. The dress code exception had only been changed for Rogue's sake and the safety of his students. He expected her to take care of the rest on her own, but also understood when accidents happened.

"Ok, I want Katie, Amanda, Heather, Nathan, Pietro, and Kurt on the left side. The other team will be Kitty, John, Steve, Rogue, Adam, and Samantha. The rest of you will be replacements and will switch off throughout the game. Off you go!"

As Rogue got into her ready position on the offense, Katie Moore, the daughter of a FOH leader sneered. "Good luck, mutie, You'll need it."

Rogue, already in a bad mood, did not appreciate this. "You're th' one who needs th' luck, blondie."

"Why? Gonna zap me when you can't get passed me?"

"Ah don' need mah powers to get by yeh."

"We'll see, Stripes," Katie smirked, holding her stick like it was a weapon. "Won't we?"

Rogue gripped her stick tighter as well. Only Logan was allowed to call her 'Stripes' and escape her wrath. The face that this was Katie saying this only made her angrier. "Definitely."

At the sound of the whistle, they were off. Each student was vying for the ball, mutants and humans alike. However, it was Pietro that quickly took control of the game. It didn't help that not only was he on Katie's team, but he couldn't help but use his powers. No one could get close enough to even try to take the ball away from him. He managed to make two goals in under five minutes.

Finally, Mr. Oberthal had to blow the whistle. "Maximoff! Slow it down!"

Pietro pouted as he slung the stick over his shoulder. "But, Mr…."

"Do it, Pietro, or you can speed yourself to the bench."

After this the game became much more even. Nearly everyone was able to gain control of the ball at least once, and it was soon time to switch players.

Having scored a goal against Rogue's team, Katie was feeling quite good about herself. The goth had not managed to score once and it was making the mutant angry.

The ball ricocheted off Kurt's stick during a pass and rolled behind the mat that was guarded by Amanda. It was still fair game and the players all tried to dive for it. Amanda started going for it as well, but saw both Rogue and Katie running straight towards her. Rather than get beaten with a stick and/or zapped into an early death, she chose to let this one go.

The other two girls would not slow down. They each wanted that ball and would not yield to their rival. Katie got there a fraction of a second before Rogue did. Trying to push passed the human girl, Rogue crouched and shoved with all her might. In retaliation, Katie swung her stick up, using too much force. This resulted in the mutant's forehead coming in full contact with the hard plastic stick by accident.

Instinctively, the Danger Room lessons came into use as Rogue moved to rid herself of the enemy who had hurt her. Shoving Katie into the wall, she managed to knock the wind out of her.

Unfortunately for the girls, this action caused the mat that was being used as a goal to come crashing down on top of them both. Still dazed form their recent injuries, they succumbed to the weight of it and went down with it.

For a moment, no one moved. The class expected Katie and Rogue to come crawling out, each spouting their own number of obscenities at the other. When no movement came, Mr. Oberthal went over to the heavy matt, afraid that they may have hit their head harder than first believed.

He lifted it up and tossed it aside, just suddenly realizing what else may have gone wrong. There before him lay his worst nightmare.

Kitty looked down at her best friend, a look of fear across her face. She could see most of the other faces in the room having similar expressions. For there on the ground lay Katie Moore with Rogue Darkholme's bare arm draped across her face. They were both breathing easily, as though only asleep. Katie's face especially was serene, much more calm than ever found awake.

The silence was not to last for Rogue soon stirred, breaking the class from its stupor.

"Kitty," Mr. Oberthal said in as calm a voice as he could muster. She snapped to attention. "What do I do?"

It was then that she too saw his fear. Fear for his students, fear for his job, fear that the situation was out of his control. For all his gruffness, he held a fondness for each of his students, mutants and humans alike. For something like this to happen was inconceivable.

"I… I don't know," she babbled, mind trying to catch up to her eyes. At his stricken look, she struggled to clear her head. "Uh… Kurt, help me get Rogue away from there. Lance, go find Scott. He'll know what to do."

He looked as though he were going to argue, knowing he was probably not the person for the task. He and Scott would rip each other apart as much as look at each other. But Kitty cut him off, her voice nearing hysterics. "Please Lance! I need Scott here." The plea was enough to convince him and he was soon racing out of the room, worried for his fallen friend and former teammate.

Gingerly, she and Kurt took a hold of whatever part of Rogue that was covered and moved her away from Katie. They weren't sure that it wasn't too late for that to help, but it could cause no more harm. By the time Rogue was laying on top of the mat that caused her fall, she was nearly all awake. Her eyes were glazed and she looked as though she wasn't aware of her surroundings. But at least she was conscious.

Mr. Oberthal meanwhile, was doing his best to take control of the quickly panicking class. They had all heard of the soul-stealing mutant, but had never seen the extent of this freak's powers. What kind of monster had they been harboring in their school that could bring them down with only a touch?

"Alright, people," he said in his usual no-nonsense tone. "I want the rest of you playing basketball over on the court there. This is still gym class and I want you busy. There's nothing to see here. You," he pointed to the mutants. "I'll need your help. Stay here."

Just as he said this, Lance finally returned to the room, a worried Scott Summers in tow. "What happened?" he demanded. The Brotherhood leader rolled his eyes, having already told the senior. However, Kitty humored him and repeated the message: that Rogue had absorbed a student and neither appeared to be recovering.

Scott thought for a moment, trying to keep his cool while those around him became more and more frantic. "Mr. Oberthal, you should call an ambulance. Rogue doesn't kill people with her powers, only puts them into comas, but still…"

"Will Katie recover?" the teacher asked shakily. The other students didn't even pretend to play ball anymore. All thoughts were on the two unconscious girls laying side by side.

"I… the others always have. If Rogue was in contact with her longer than normal… I don't know. She needs to be in the hospital."

The gym teacher needed no further encouragement, commanding the nearest girl to get the nurse to call 911 and to arrive as soon as she could. As this was going on, Kurt stared down at his poor sister who was still fighting to stay awake. So far she was losing the battle. And she still had no idea of her surroundings.

"What about mein sweister?" he asked Scott, frightened for the girl. "She's never been unconscious just by absorbing someone."

The leader sighed in defeat. "We need Dr. McCoy's help. Kurt, how far can you teleport her?"

The younger boy shook his head. "Not far enough."

Pietro surprised them all by stepping forward. "I can take her. I can do it in less than a minute."

"Absolutely not," Scott refused. "I won't let…"

"What choice do you have, Summers?" Pietro demanded. "As soon as word gets out that Rogue drained some rich F.O.H. brat, the cops will be all over her. They're probably on their way here." He glared at the remaining students for effect. "She needs to get out of here fast and you standing there talking about it isn't helping her!"

Scott weighed his options quickly, knowing the situation was out of his hands. Finally he nodded. "Alright, Maximoff, you can take her. Everyone else, there might be trouble when the word about Rogue gets out. So keep as safe as possible. I'll be going to the Institute now if anyone wants to come with me."

Without any other commands, Pietro picked up his former teammate and raced off. There was no way in Hell he'd trust Rogue in the hands of the government. And that was sure to happen if Summers stood around any longer trying to figure out what to do. Some things required time. But as he held the shivering girl in his arms, he knew that this required speed. Time was something they just didn't have.

Not yet going at full speed in the dangerous hallways of the school, Pietro jogged rapidly toward the exit. He was so focused on his hurting friend that he didn't notice there was someone behind him till he was grabbed off his feet and pulled back.

"Where yeh goin' so fast, Quicky?" Remy drawled, holding the younger mutant by the scruff of his t-shirt.

"Let go, Gambit," Pietro hissed, unhappy to see the Acolyte even on the best of days. "I'm kinda in a rush, here."

It was then that the Cajun noticed the limp goth held tightly in Pietro's arms. His eyes narrowed and the speedy mutant could swear he saw red behind the hologram eyes. The grip on Pietro's shirt tightened.

"What happened?" Remy demanded, leaving no room for question.

"She zapped some stupid human that got too close," Pietro snapped back, angry at being manhandled when he had a job to do.

"She ain' neva' collapsed befo'," Remy remembered, beginning to get a bit worried. What could make her collapse and shiver like that? What was wrong with her?

"Well I'm glad the school is doing something for your brain," the smaller mutant tried to jerk away from Remy's hold, but was unsuccessful. "Let me go, bayou boy, I have to get her out of here."

"Where are yeh takin' her?" Remy was not yet ready to let Pietro leave with Rogue just yet.

"To Xavier if it's any of your business, now let go!" This time he was successful in getting away from Gambit's hold on his shirt. "Gambit! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Remy stepped back, looking as though he were slapped for the second time that day. "Wrong? Quoi…"

"Yes, wrong! You're acting like a lunatic! Now get outta my way, Rogue needs to get to Xavier now!" Pushing past the stupefied Remy, Pietro sped out of the doors, not giving him a second thought as he ran into the road.

"Crazy, son of a… hey, Roguey, are you ok?" he asked, zipping between cars. They were halfway there and he was worried at the lack of… well… anything from his former teammate.

She moved her head from where it had been resting against his chest. He risked a look down, now and then looking up so they didn't race full speed into a brick wall.

Rogue's green eyes looked bewildered up at her white-haired savior. As he gazed at her, he could see her eyes would melt between green and brown. "Pietro?" she whispered so softly he wondered if he didn't imagine it.

"Yeah, it's me," he answered, relieved that she was conscious at least. "How are you feeling?"

"It hurts, Pietro," she whimpered, still shivering. She clenched her bare hands tightly so the knuckles went white.

"I know, Rogue," he held her a bit tighter against him. "I'm taking you to the Institute. Hold on, ok?" She didn't reply, only put her head against his chest, closing her eyes as she rode the pain in her head.

Finally, Pietro saw the gates of the Xavier mansion come into view. Putting in a bit of extra speed, he used his momentum to scale the 12 foot wall rather than stop to get clearance at the gate. The weapons were too slow to catch him anyway. And he didn't have the luxury of being able to waste time.

'Pietro,' came a voice out of nowhere. Were the swift mutant not used to strange things happening, usually around this mansion, he would have been much more startled. To his credit, all Pietro did in response to this mind invasion was jump in fright and narrowly avoid a tree.

"Yeah?" he asked testily, unhappy at being caught startled. He stopped where he was on the driveway, looking around for any signs of defensive weapons popping from the ground.

'I assure you the weapons have been disabled,' Xavier's mental voice soothed his fears… mostly. 'If you would be so kind as to let our dear Rogue in. Jean sent me, a message telling me what happened.'

"On my way," Pietro replied, jogging the rest of the way in. Rogue made no other sound other than a soft whimper into his shirt. Quicksilver's greatest pride was his inhuman speed. He could only hope he was fast enough to save his best friend.

"Hold on, Rogue. Almost there."

End Part One 

A/N: So that's chapter one. It's hard to update a lot when I'm working on so much at once. The way I do it is make sure that I don't spend too much time on any one story so they all get done and none gets left behind. So keep checking back now and then and I'll keep plugging away.

Question of the day: Here's a trivia question just for fun to see what other things ya'll like. Let's see who can get it. I'll post the answer in the next post. The question for the first chapter is an easy one: What was the name of Qui-Gon's Padawan before taking Obi-Wan? And what ended his apprenticeship?

Oh, and Nuwie, I know I sent you all that info, but here's something else I forgot. When it comes to Remy, and anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, but most people accept that he is a low-class empath. That is, he can sense the emotions of others, but not read minds like Xavier or Jean. It helps him in charming others if he knows what they're feeling.


End file.
